1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to shoes worn by humankind, and more particularly to the support the shoes provide for the foot.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Shoes worn by men and women of all ages have been designed for the most part with a sole attached to the bottom of the shoe and a heel on the back one-fourth of the shoe attached to the sole. The heel provides lift and cushions the front part of the foot when walking. Some shoes provide arch support in the area under the arch of the foot. The normal arch of the foot is strong enough to balance the weight of the body on the front part of the foot and the back (heel) of the foot. When the first metatarsal, cuneiform, scaphoid and astragalus bones of the foot are not connected properly, the arch falls and the proper balance is not maintained.
There is then more pressure placed on the heel and less pressure on the front of the foot thereby causing improper balance. This can bring about pain to the heel.
Various products have been on the market for several years to alleviate this problem. One is the arch support. This device, sometimes padded, is placed in the shoe to keep the arch higher when standing or walking. In many cases this is beneficial; however, it does not balance the foot completely and more than normal pressure is usually placed on the heel causing discomfort to the heel. The other most common product is the padded sole placed in the shoe. This device also helps in some cases but does nothing to balance the foot and relieve excess pressure on the heel. Many people of various occupations are required to stand on their feet for long periods of time. If they have fallen arches they will in most cases have discomfort to their feet.
A number of prior art patents are directed to providing cushioned soles and cushioned heels. Typical among these patents is U.S. Pat. No. 4,566,206 to Weber which is directed to a wedged heel structure which serves as an undamped spring having multi-spring rates. The Weber structure is essentially resilient and one piece and does not provide rigid support of the arch, with a distribution of force toward the ball of the foot. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 1,625,048 to Nock is directed to a spring heel, as is U.S. Pat. No. 1,102,343 to Kovacs and U.S. Pat. No. 3,886,674 to Pavia. However, none of these patents is directed to providing arch support.